He asked for no questions about his pending move to United out of respect for his current club, where he will remain in charge for their final two Premier League games of the season, the first of which is at home to West Ham on Sunday.

He admitted, though, that the pull of Old Trafford was too hard to resist, despite his fondness for Everton.

Asked if he had considered turning down the United job, Moyes said: "It's such an important part of me, Everton. But I have to be honest - and I'll always try to be honest in everything I do - and I'd have to say no."

And he did indicate a belief that his single-mindedness will ensure he can deal with a step up to manage the new Premier League champions.

Moyes feels that he faced a similar challenge when he made the step up from the second tier, where he had been Preston's boss, to the top flight on taking the Everton job in March 2002.

He said: "When you're a young man, you want to try to be near the top as much as you can.

"I think Everton have had a lot of glare. When I came in here, I was a young manager, and because of that, there was a lot of glare on me then.

"When I walked in here, I thought: 'There are millions in here,' because it was more than what I was used to at Preston.

"You just have to keep yourself focused, maintain your own belief and keep moving on. Sometimes you have to shut yourself off and keep doing what you think is right.

"I'll try to do that. I remember when I came to Everton, I thought: 'Am I going to keep doing all the same things I did at Preston? What am I going to do? How am I going to take it on?'

"And you develop. Everybody develops at different stages. And I thought: 'Yeah, I will.'

"I hope in the future, I'll continue to be the same guy as I am, and I hope that whatever the future brings me, I won't change."

Moyes is hopeful that he will still be welcomed back at Goodison Park despite his move to Old Trafford.

He added: "I really enjoy the people I work with. I enjoy Goodison. There's a strange thing about coming to Goodison. There's an old-fashioned old lady of a football stadium that can be really raucous on its day.

"Being connected to Everton Football Club has been such a big part of my life and career. All through my 40s, I've been manager of Everton.

"I'd always hoped that when I did leave that I'd be able to walk back through the front door. Some might think I'll not be. But I hope I'll always be able to walk back through the front door and shake people's hands."